THE QUALITY OF WHEAT 73 



foreign wheats, notably Californian, which have their 

 last three months of growth in cloudless weather, yet 

 remain weak. The best climate appears to be one which 

 Schimper calls a "steppe" climate. The winter is very 

 severe, too cold in fact for the wheat plant to survive. 

 During the spring, showery weather prevails, while the 

 temperature rises rapidly, and as the season advances 

 both the heat and the dryness become extreme. Thus 

 the "strong" wheats are essentially spring wheats. 

 Their period of growth is necessarily short, not exceeding 

 five months, and sometimes less. It will be seen how 

 admirably Canada is suited for the growth of "strong" 

 wheat on account of both her "steppe" climate and her 

 rich native soil. 



(c) These Factors in New Zealand. The wheat pro- 

 ducing area in New Zealand possesses neither a rich 

 black soil nor a "steppe" climate. Hence, it may at once 

 be assumed that on the whole the varieties of wheat 

 grown are "soft." That this assumption is warranted 

 in practice will be seen from the table appended* 

 showing the "strength" and milling products of the 

 main varieties produced in the Dominion. 



5. New Zealand Varieties. 



The varieties of wheat most commonly grown in Can- 

 terbury may be divided into three main classes, Hunter 's, 

 Tuscan, and Pearl. But there are several others grown 

 in scattered localities, such as Red King, Bordier, and 

 New Era. 



(a) Tuscan. The introduction of the Tuscan varieties, 

 as was pointed out above, caused something in the nature 

 of a revolution in wheat production in New Zealand. 

 Pearl and Hunter's were the varieties most commonly 



*See page 77. 



C 2 



